Cazwell
Encyclopedia
Luke Caswell known as Cazwell, is an American rapper
and songwriter. He is best known for his explicit lyrics and collaborations with Amanda Lepore
. His work focuses on gay
and bisexual
urban themes and content, and his music and videos are frequently played on LOGO
.
directed by Francis Legge and edited by Cayle Ryan Pietras. Cazwell is known for hosting and DJ
ing at parties, including BoysRoom in New York City
, with guests such as Ladyfag
, Amanda Lepore
, Dj Adam, Raquel Reed and her brother Stephen Reed.
During the summer of 2007, Cazwell was a part of the multi-artist True Colors Tour which traveled through 15 cities in North America. The tour, sponsored by LOGO, was hosted by comedian Margaret Cho
and headlined by Cyndi Lauper
and included Deborah Harry, Rufus Wainwright
, The Dresden Dolls
, Rosie O'Donnell
, Indigo Girls
, Stephen Reed and other special guests. Profits from the tour helped to benefit LGBT
organizations Human Rights Campaign
, PFLAG and The Matthew Shepard
Foundation.
He released a single in September, 2008, titled "I Seen Beyoncé
..." featuring Jonny Makeup
. The video was directed by Francis Legge
and Bec Stupak
. In 2009, he appeared in the final episode of RuPaul's Drag Race
and released a new single "Tonight", which sampled Give Me Tonight
by Shannon
. His second album, Watch My Mouth
was released on September 1, 2009, containing all of his previous singles as well as a few songs from his debut.
In 2010, Cazwell released a new single, "Ice Cream Truck
" and the video premiered on YouTube on July 30, 2010, and received over 1 million views in its first week. It was directed by Marco Ovando.
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
and songwriter. He is best known for his explicit lyrics and collaborations with Amanda Lepore
Amanda Lepore
Amanda Lepore is an American model, nightclub hostess, fashion icon, performance artist, and transgender icon. She has appeared in advertising for numerous companies, including M.A.C. cosmetics, Mego Jeans, The Blonds, Swatch, CAMP Cosmetics, and Heatherette, which has used her likeness on...
. His work focuses on gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
urban themes and content, and his music and videos are frequently played on LOGO
Logo (TV channel)
Logo is an American digital cable television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division. Launched in June 2005, the channel's programs are geared towards the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community...
.
Career
Cazwell released an album in 2006 named Get Into It. The lead single, "All Over Your Face", was banned from LOGO due to explicit lyrics and sexual imagery portrayed in the music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
directed by Francis Legge and edited by Cayle Ryan Pietras. Cazwell is known for hosting and DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
ing at parties, including BoysRoom in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, with guests such as Ladyfag
Ladyfag
Ladyfag is a New York City based writer, performer, and nightlife personality.- Background :Ladyfag was born Rayne Baron in Toronto, Canada. There she ran a store selling vintage clothing and antiques. Known for her over-the-top fashion sensibility, she was voted in 2006 for Toronto's best dressed...
, Amanda Lepore
Amanda Lepore
Amanda Lepore is an American model, nightclub hostess, fashion icon, performance artist, and transgender icon. She has appeared in advertising for numerous companies, including M.A.C. cosmetics, Mego Jeans, The Blonds, Swatch, CAMP Cosmetics, and Heatherette, which has used her likeness on...
, Dj Adam, Raquel Reed and her brother Stephen Reed.
During the summer of 2007, Cazwell was a part of the multi-artist True Colors Tour which traveled through 15 cities in North America. The tour, sponsored by LOGO, was hosted by comedian Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
and headlined by Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
and included Deborah Harry, Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
, The Dresden Dolls
The Dresden Dolls
The Dresden Dolls are an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione...
, Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
, Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
, Stephen Reed and other special guests. Profits from the tour helped to benefit LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
organizations Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
, PFLAG and The Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...
Foundation.
He released a single in September, 2008, titled "I Seen Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
..." featuring Jonny Makeup
Jonny Makeup
Jonny Makeup is an American socialite, musician and Internet personality. He has clothing at American Apparel and has appeared in their advertisements. Additionally, Makeup has performed spoken segments on Viva Radio.-Career:...
. The video was directed by Francis Legge
Francis Legge
Francis Legge , was a British military officer and colonial official in Nova Scotia during the 18th century. He served as Governor of Nova Scotia from 1772 to 1776....
and Bec Stupak
Bec Stupak
Bec Stupak is a video and performance artist working in Brooklyn, New York. Her work uses collage, repetition and shifting fields of bright color to create psychedelic animations and films. She got her start early on as a VJ at raves, performing around the world and as a regular performer at Lonnie...
. In 2009, he appeared in the final episode of RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality television series produced by World of Wonder for Logo. RuPaul plays host, mentor and inspiration for this series, which details RuPaul's search for "America's next drag superstar."...
and released a new single "Tonight", which sampled Give Me Tonight
Give Me Tonight
"Give Me Tonight" is a 1984 song released as a single by Shannon, an American R&B and dance artist. Released as the follow-up single to her smash debut single, "Let the Music Play," "Give Me Tonight" was not as successful as its predecessor on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at #46...
by Shannon
Shannon (singer)
Shannon is an American singer. She is best known for her 1983 million-selling record, "Let the Music Play". The record re-defined the electro funk sound that would eventually be called freestyle music.-Biography:...
. His second album, Watch My Mouth
Watch My Mouth
Watch My Mouth is the second album by rapper Cazwell. Watch My Mouth is his first full-length album, with eight bonus tracks.-Track listing:*Tracks 13 through 19 are bonus tracks/remixes.*Track 20 is a digital only bonus track....
was released on September 1, 2009, containing all of his previous singles as well as a few songs from his debut.
In 2010, Cazwell released a new single, "Ice Cream Truck
Ice Cream Truck (Cazwell song)
"Ice Cream Truck" is a non-album single by American rapper Cazwell, released on August 17, 2010. The music video for the song was directed by Marco Ovando and premiered on YouTube on July 30th, 2010. The video became a viral hit, receiving over 1 million views within a week, and over 3 million...
" and the video premiered on YouTube on July 30, 2010, and received over 1 million views in its first week. It was directed by Marco Ovando.
Albums
- Get Into It (2006)
- Watch My MouthWatch My MouthWatch My Mouth is the second album by rapper Cazwell. Watch My Mouth is his first full-length album, with eight bonus tracks.-Track listing:*Tracks 13 through 19 are bonus tracks/remixes.*Track 20 is a digital only bonus track....
(Peace Bisquit) (2009)
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Dance | |||
| 2006 | "All Over Your Face" | 31 | Get Into It |
| 2007 | "Watch My Mouth" | — | |
| 2008 | "I Seen Beyoncé..." | 23 | Watch My Mouth Watch My Mouth Watch My Mouth is the second album by rapper Cazwell. Watch My Mouth is his first full-length album, with eight bonus tracks.-Track listing:*Tracks 13 through 19 are bonus tracks/remixes.*Track 20 is a digital only bonus track.... |
| 2009 | "Tonight" | — | |
| 2010 | "Ice Cream Truck Ice Cream Truck (Cazwell song) "Ice Cream Truck" is a non-album single by American rapper Cazwell, released on August 17, 2010. The music video for the song was directed by Marco Ovando and premiered on YouTube on July 30th, 2010. The video became a viral hit, receiving over 1 million views within a week, and over 3 million... " |
— | Non-album singles |
| 2011 | "Get My Money Back" | 31 | |
Featured singles
- Colton FordColton FordColton Ford is the stage name of Glenn Soukesian, a former same-sex adult film star, singer and actor. As of May 2007, he resides in New York City.-Film career:...
– "That's Me" (featuring Cazwell and Stephen Reed) (2006) - Peppermint – "Servin' it Up!" (featuring Cazwell) (2006)